The 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositide response of 3T3-L1 preadipose cells exposed to insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, or platelet-derived growth factor.

We compared the pattern of 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositides produced by confluent 3T3-L1 preadipose cells upon exposure to growth factors that either induce differentiation (insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1) or do not (platelet-derived growth factor). Following addition of insulin or insulin-like growth factor-1, PI(3,4,5)P3 rapidly rose, on average, to levels tenfold over basal. PI(3,4)P2 either did not change (after insulin) or slightly increased (1.5 fold). Time course studies with insulin demonstrated that the rise in PI(3,4,5)P3 peaked by 1 minute, and levels then remained steady over 30 minutes. Dose-response experiments showed that insulin at a concentration of 1 nM was sufficient for the PI(3,4,5)P3 response. Insulin failed to increase PI(3,4)P2 at any of the time points or at any of the doses used. In contrast, after addition of platelet-derived growth factor, both PI(3,4)P2 and PI(3,4,5)P3 rose concurrently and to comparable extents. These data suggest that one possible mechanism contributing to insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1-induced 3T3-L1 preadipose cell differentiation is a distinct pattern of 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositide accumulation, defined by a prominent increase in PI(3,4,5)P3 with no (in the case of insulin), or a minimal (in the case of IGF-1), rise in PI(3,4)P2.